According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 15% of occupational fatal falls are from ladders. Because ladders are also used at home, the absolute number of ladder falls is even greater. Men are three times more likely than women to experience fall injuries from ladders or scaffolds in nonoccupational settings, and the incident rate increases significantly with age irrespective of gender. In 2002, ladder-related injuries and deaths of people aged 65 and older cost the United States more than $2.6 billion. Because fall-related injuries from ladders tend to be more severe than falls at ground level, there is a need to prevent as many such falls as possible, especially among older adults.
Although fall-related injuries from ladders are not limited to older adults, consequences of injuries to older adults tend to be greater. Elderly living independently at home need to clean their gutters of leaves and other debris each fall and/or spring when living in certain regions of the country. This can be particularly challenging when gutters are filled with heavy wet debris. Living on a fixed income can make them reticent to ask for help with this chore and also reticent to purchase gutter guards because of the added expense. Furthermore, self-efficacy generated by years of living independently and doing their own chores can lead some elderly to continue climbing ladders to clean gutters, even after they have accumulated significant losses in strength, balance, physical and/or cognitive capacities that place them at added risk for a fall.
A need exists for a device that will permit a user, young or elderly, to stand on the ground and reach and effectively clean gutters and downspouts at the roof edge of a budding without the need for a ladder. Moreover, there is a need for such a device that will also address the challenges posed when gutters are filled with heavy wet debris.